CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; IRAQ IS SAID TO ORDER SHIPS NOT TO OPPOSE INSPECTIONS; U.S. EXPELS BAGHDAD ENVOYS

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Iraq has reversed orders to its merchant ships, instructing them not to resist if American or other naval forces try to board the vessels for inspections as part of the international blockade, United States officials said today.

Officials in Washington interpreted the new orders as a possibly conciliatory move by Iraq in advance of a mediation mission to the Middle East by the United Nations Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cuellar.

But President Bush said today that he saw no immediate hope for ''fruitful negotiations'' to end the 26-day-old Persian Gulf standoff. The Administration ordered two-thirds of the staff of the Iraqi Embassy in Washington to leave the country, and there were new reports of roundups of foreigners in Iraq and Kuwait.

Bush Firm on Iraqi Pullout

In remarks that seemed intended to avoid any sign of faltering as the United States expands its presence in the gulf, Mr. Bush said at a news conference at his vacation home here that there was ''no flexibility'' on the United States' basic demand that President Saddam Hussein unconditionally withdraw Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Mr. Perez de Cuellar said today that he would seek the ''full implementation'' of Security Council resolutions demanding that Baghdad withdraw from Kuwait and free all detained foreigners. [Page A13.] Some Administration officials cited the Secretary General's impending visit to the Middle East as a sign that the gulf crisis might enter a lull in which the focus would shift from military tensions to diplomatic overtures.

U.S. Commanders 'on Hold'

Although the American military buildup in Saudi Arabia and nearby waters continued unabated today, Pentagon officials said their commanders in the Middle East were essentially ''on hold'' while diplomats renew efforts to solve the crisis.

Western European nations also continued to bolster their forces. France announced that it was sending combat helicopters to Saudi Arabia, the first ground forces committed by that country since Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, and Qatar joined other Arab states in the Persian Gulf in making its military installations available to the multinational force.

Administration and Pentagon officials in Washington said they had received intelligence reports from the Middle East indicating that Iraq had rescinded an order that the captains of its merchant ships continue to defy the blockade of Iraqi shipping.

The source of the reports was not disclosed, but it was presumed that they came from intercepted radio messages. The officials said that the Iraqi captains, who have already ignored two sets of warning shots from United States Navy vessels, have since been ordered to stop on demand and to cooperate with boarding parties. Public Relations Move? The officials said the new orders might simply be a public relations gesture by Baghdad in advance of Mr. Perez de Cuellar's trip to Jordan, where he will meet on Thursday with Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz of Iraq. But the officials said the new orders might genuinely be intended to avert the possibility of warfare at a potential flashpoint in the Middle East, the waters around the Arabian Peninsula where scores of warships are trying to cut off all Iraqi shipping.

Administration officials noted that the Iraqi military has made no overt move on the United States Embassy in Kuwait City. The mission is one of several that have been surrounded by Iraqi troops.

But Margaret D. Tutwiler, the State Department spokeswoman, said in Washington that Iraqi forces had detained another 7 American citizens in Kuwait since Friday, taking 6 of them to the Regency Hotel there and the seventh to an undisclosed location. That brings the numbered of detained Americans to 63, with 42 in Iraq and 21 in Kuwait.

The State Department said it learned late tonight that an American man in his 50s died in Basra, Iraq, of a heart attack. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry informed the American Embassy of the death and officials were trying to confirm the man's identity. It was not clear whether he was one of the Americans held by the Iraqis, a State Department spokeswoman said.

Detention of 3 Denounced

Earlier, Marlin Fitzwater, the White House spokesman, denounced an Iraqi decision to prevent three young American men from leaving Iraq late Sunday with 52 other dependents of diplomats who crossed into Turkey. Mr. Fitzwater said Iraq had ''once again reneged on its pledge'' to allow the dependents to leave the country.

The three were sent back to the United States Embassy in Baghdad after they were denied permission to cross the border with the rest of their convoy. A State Department spokesman said the three dependents were ''apparently detained because they were males over the age of 18.''

Of the 52 freed, 47 are expected to arrive around midday Tuesday on a chartered military plane at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland, outside Washington. The other 5 will travel to points outside the United States. The Americans released included 19 women and 33 children, including 10 under the age of 3.

In London, the Foreign Office said the Iraqis rounded up 8 more Britons in Kuwait on Sunday night and detained them at a ''civilian establishment'' in Kuwait City. It said it had learned that two others had been detained at an earlier date, increasing the number of Britons held to 157.

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Mr. Bush said he was confident that Iraq would not retaliate militarily for the United States' decision to expel 36 of the 55 Iraqi diplomats and nondiplomatic staff members of the embassy in Washington. The State Department gave the Iraqi Embassy until 4:30 P.M. Thursday to comply with the expulsion, which was ordered in retaliation for the Iraqi crackdown on the American Embassy in Kuwait.

Iraq announced the annexation of Kuwait and subsequently ordered all foreign embassies closed. The United States and many other countries have defied that order, saying that they do not recognize the annexation. #7 of 36 Are Diplomats The State Department said that 7 of the 36 Iraqis covered by the expulsion order are accredited diplomats, and that the other 29 are nondiplomatic staff members.

Miss Tutwiler said the Deputy Secretary of State, Lawrence S. Eagleburger, summoned the Iraqi Ambassador, Mohammed al-Mashat, to the State Department today to inform him of the expulsion order. The Iraqi envoy called the action ''unfair, unjust, uncalled for, because we haven't touched your embassy in Baghdad.''

The State Department was also preparing a diplomatic note that would restrict the 19 remaining diplomatic personnel to a 25-mile radius around the Iraqi Embassy, revoke multiple-entry privileges for Iraqi diplomats, and restrict the dispersal of money by the Iraqi Embassy to Iraqi students, Miss Tutwiler said.

She said that ''a number'' of other nations had ''indicated that they will be taking actions similar to our own.'' She did not name the other countries.

Mr. Bush, who has been traveling between Washington and his vacation home here over the past three weeks, planned to return to Washington on Tuesday to meet with members of Congress on the gulf crisis and to remain in the capital until Thursday. The President said today that he would also meet with aides to discuss energy supplies and efforts to reduce the Federal budget deficit.

Avoids Raising Hopes

Addressing reporters today after meeting with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada, Mr. Bush seemed anxious not to raise public expectations about the trip to the Middle East by Mr. Perez de Cuellar.

The United States is open to talks between Iraqi officials and the American charge d'affaires in Baghdad, Joseph C. Wilson 4th, Mr. Bush said. He said that if Mr. Perez de Cuellar tries to persuade the Iraqi Government to comply with United Nations resolutions demanding a withdrawal from Kuwait, ''so much the better.''

But when asked if he had become more optimistic about the hopes for a diplomatic settlement, Mr. Bush said: ''I don't particularly see more hope now because it's so clear what the world is demanding of Saddam Hussein. Clearly the objectives remain the same: Get out of Kuwait and restore the rightful leaders to their place.''

He added, ''Saddam Hussein has been so resistant to complying with international law that I don't yet see fruitful negotiations.''

Mr. Bush said he did not plan to seek assurances from Mr. Perez de Cuellar that he would not discuss any compromise with the Iraqis on the United Nations' basic demands.

''It's inconceivable to me that the Secretary General, an experienced diplomat, a good leader, would do that,'' he said. ''I think it would be gratuitous for me to discuss that with him.''

Mr. Bush said, ''There is no flexibility on Iraq getting out of Kuwait and the rulers being permitted to come back to Kuwait.''

But the Administration's position beyond that point remains unclear. Although Mr. Bush insists that the deposed Emir of Kuwait be restored to his throne, the Administration acknowledges that the gulf crisis is likely to create new pressure to democratize Kuwait's Government in some way.

Jordan Says U.S. Halted Ships

AMMAN, Jordan, Aug. 27 (Reuters) - Jordan said today that United States warships had intercepted three cargo ships bound for the Red Sea port of Aqaba in the last two days and forced one to turn back.

The official news agency Petra quoted the port director of Aqaba, Awad Tell, as saying that the Zorba Express, registered in St. Vincent, and the Kalidos, registered in India, were inspected and allowed to proceed but that a third ship, the SGM Paris, had been denied entry to the port. Aqaba is Jordan's only outlet to the sea.

A version of this article appears in print on August 28, 1990, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; IRAQ IS SAID TO ORDER SHIPS NOT TO OPPOSE INSPECTIONS; U.S. EXPELS BAGHDAD ENVOYS. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe